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Four-time World Cup winners Italy will face Northern Ireland in the semi-finals of the European playoffs for the 2026 tournament while Ukraine face star-studded Sweden.Italy will take on Northern Ireland on March 26 next year at an Italian venue that is yet to be confirmed, after the draw made in Zurich Thursday.Five days later the winner will travel to face the winner of Wales’s semi-final against Bosnia-Herzegovina.Despite another error-strewn qualification campaign, Italy still have a chance of reaching the World Cup finals for the first time since the 2014 tournament in Brazil, having failed to qualify in 2018 and 2022.Facing the Azzurri will be a daunting challenge for Northern Ireland, who have only beaten the Italians once in 11 meetings, and that was in 1958. Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso said: “Let’s concentrate on the first match. Northern Ireland are a team that we can beat. They’re a team that have their own style, they’re very physical... they’ll give us a good game but we can do it. We know about Wales and Bosnia, and playing in Cardiff is difficult for anybody, but for now let’s concentrate on the semi-final.”War-torn Ukraine will play a Sweden team that could feature Liverpool’s £125mn ($164mn) forward Alexander Isak and Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres.The Swedes, though, were woeful in qualifying, finishing bottom of their group, and only got into the playoffs thanks to their performance in the Nations League. Newly appointed English coach Graham Potter, formerly in charge of Brighton and Chelsea, faces a tough task to steer the Swedes to the finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Potter said Sweden had a “fantastic opportunity”.“We need to make sure we’re in a good place in March.We need to use our time until then wisely,” he said.Whoever triumphs in the Ukraine v Sweden match will face the winner of Poland’s meeting with Albania – the Albanians are bidding to reach football’s showpiece for the first time. Meanwhile, the Republic of Ireland, who reached the playoffs after a dramatic late goal from Troy Parrott earned a 3-2 win in Hungary on Sunday, face a tough trip to the Czech Republic.The winner of that match will host the winner of the semi-final between Denmark and North Macedonia.Turkiye will play Romania, who were surprise quarter-finalists the last time the tournament was played in the United States in 1994.The winner will face either Slovakia or Kosovo, who are also trying to reach a World Cup for the first time in their history. All the European semi-finals will take place on March 26, with the finals on March 31.In the inter-continental playoffs, New Caledonia – another nation bidding to make a first appearance at a World Cup finals – will play against Jamaica for the right to face the seeded Democratic Republic of Congo.Bolivia will play Suriname – yet another country seeking a first ever appearance – with the victor going on to a winner-takes-all game against Iraq.Those games will be played in March next year. The expansion of the 2026 World Cup to 48 teams from 32 teams in 2022 has led to a clutch of first-time qualifiers, including Curacao and Uzbekistan.

Thomas Tuchel blasted England’s “silent” fans for failing to back his team loudly enough during their 3-0 friendly win over Wales at Wembley on Thursday.Tuchel’s side delivered an eye-catching first half display as Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins and Bukayo Saka all netted inside the first 20 minutes. England’s swaggering performance, which followed a 5-0 demolition of Serbia in a crucial World Cup qualifier in September, was a promising sign as they gear up for next year’s World Cup.But Tuchel took exception to what he felt was a tepid response from England supporters in the sell-out crowd. “We did very, very well. We had an excellent first half, we were 3-0 up very quickly but could have been four or five. Then we couldn’t score the fourth one or the fifth one and the stadium was silent,” Tuchel said.“Silent! We never got any energy back from the fans and I think the players delivered a lot to get more from the fans. It was difficult to keep everything going in the second half, but we did excellent and deserved to win. A step in the right direction.”Tuchel’s frustration was exacerbated by hearing Wales backed by 7,000 raucous fans, who never stopped cheering their team even though they were completely out-classed.The German may also have been letting off steam after he was jeered by England fans at the City Ground in Nottingham following a shock friendly loss against Senegal in June.Asked if he expected more from supporters at Wembley when England were playing so well, Tuchel responded: “Yeah, what more can you give in 20 minutes? Three goals, the way we attacked Wales and didn’t let them escape. “Even in their own half, ball win after ball win after ball win. If you only hear Wales fans for half an hour, it’s a bit sad because I think the team deserved big support today.”England fans engaged in their Wembley tradition of throwing paper aeroplanes when they felt the match wasn’t entertaining enough, with many leaving well before the final whistle.Tuchel stood by his controversial comments when he faced the media at his post-match press conference.“Good moment to explain myself. First of all, I said the support in Serbia was absolutely fantastic when we played last time. I said it and I meant it,” he said. “I love English football and I love English football fans and the support they give. But I think today the atmosphere did not match the performance on the field.”Tuchel is certain England will be backed by much louder support from travelling fans in Latvia when they resume World Cup qualification on Tuesday.England are on the verge of qualifying for the World Cup and could be certain to progress to the tournament if they win in Latvia, depending on other results in Group K. Former Bayern Munich and Chelsea boss Tuchel has now won six of his seven games since replacing Gareth Southgate.